In the current geopolitical landscape, governments across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa are facing a fundamental question: How can we maintain our ability to operate and serve our citizens, no matter what happens on the global stage? The reality is that the predictability of global technological partnerships has been replaced by significant uncertainty. Public sector leaders can no longer afford to ignore the dependencies inherent in closed, proprietary systems. True sovereignty means having the choice and the liberty to decide where your applications run. Depending on data classification, a government may choose to run unclassified services in a commercial cloud, restricted data in a security-forward regional cloud, and highly sensitive or secret workloads in a disconnected, on-premise environment. Enterprise-grade open source acts as a neutral foundation that enables the same necessary levels of reliability and security regardless of the underlying infrastructure. Innovation without isolation A common misconception is that sovereignty requires isolation, which inevitably leads to a "sovereignty tax" of reduced innovation and higher costs. Sovereignty must not limit innovation. Public sector agencies need the latest technological advancements, including those driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation, to remain financially viable and deliver better citizen services. Open source is a bridge that helps to resolve this tension. It allows governments to participate in global innovation, leveraging the collective intelligence of millions of developers while maintaining local control. The source code is openly available and remains with the customer, even if a vendor relationship were to change. Unlike proprietary models, this provides a path for continuity and self-reliance essential for critical public infrastructure. Aligning with the European Open Digital Ecosystem The importance of this open approach is now being recognized at the highest levels of policy. The European Commission’s recent "European Open Digital Ecosystems" call for evidence signals a major shift. The EU is explicitly exploring how to foster open, interoperable environments to prevent dependencies that have historically stifled European autonomy. This initiative underscores that a sovereign digital future for Europe cannot be built on closed, restrictive silos. The public sector is effectively demanding the "reversibility" and "interoperability" that are the hallmarks of the open source model. Much of the upstream development for open source technologies already happens right here in Europe. Red Hat is committed to empower EU organizations to own their digital destiny and recently introduced Red Hat Confirmed Sovereign Support for the European Union. This offering is built to deliver technical support that is provided exclusively by EU-based residents, keeping operational knowledge strictly within jurisdictional borders. Automation enables sovereignty Sovereignty is also achieved through efficiency. By embracing automation, public sector organizations can reduce the risk of human error and modernize their own environments to be as agile and transparent as any public cloud. More importantly, automation allows governments to focus their most valuable and scarce resource - skilled IT talent - on what actually matters: developing applications that provide citizen value. Managing hardware, storage, and operating systems is a necessary evil, but the true mission of a government agency is fulfilled through the services it delivers. A vision for an open future The ideal state for EMEA is not a world of closed borders and fragmented technology, but one of intentional choice. Public sector leaders need to avoid the paths that lead to vendor lock-in and make decisions that prioritize long-term flexibility over short-term convenience. Whether it is a Ministry of Defense operating from the core data center to the tactical edge, or a local municipality launching a smart city initiative, Red Hat’s goal is to provide the technology that provides for continuous operation and innovation independently. Digital sovereignty isn't about building a fortress, it's about building a foundation of autonomy. And that foundation is open. About the author Browse by channel Automation The latest on IT automation for tech, teams, and environments Artificial intelligence Updates on the platforms that free customers to run AI workloads anywhere Open hybrid cloud Explore how we build a more flexible future with hybrid cloud Security The latest on how we reduce risks across environments and technologies Edge computing Updates on the platforms that simplify operations at the edge Infrastructure The latest on the world’s leading enterprise Linux platform Applications Inside our solutions to the toughest application challenges Virtualization The future of enterprise virtualization for your workloads on-premise or across clouds